Well done Stray03. Good presentation, always happy to see people using correct designation for this grenade. The M designation was indeed for Mesopotamia (now Iraq/Iran region). Other grenades such as the No 23 suffered in the hot conditions with TNT exuding from the bodies and forming crystals. TNT crystals are sensitive to shock and abrasion such as unscrewing base plugs to install Initiator Sets presented a serious hazard. The M series had better sealing and the addition of 2 % beeswax resolved the problem. The grenade had a long service and filling explosives varied over time - at times recycled and recovered explosives were used as filling. Grenades do not experience the high shock and pressures found in artillery or mortar rounds. Grenades were filled with molten explosive not loose powders. Not sure of British service but was in use by UK and Australian forces in Korea and Malaya. Aust changed to US M26A2 during Malayan conflict and retained that grenade until late 1990s. Filling plugs and base plugs vary between manufacturers in both material and design. May be brass, steel or alloy. Alloys are notorious for reacting with the explosive filling and breaking up. Not a problem in wartime where storage life is brief but an issue with “finds” 60 or 70 years later. Some production used Bakelite filling plugs as a tpt plug from foundry to filling factory. Live grenades which have been cleaned of explosives are well known to sweat TNT crystals from the cast body material. In Australia this residue trace would be sufficient to declare an item not free from explosives. I have personally recovered and disposed of several hundreds of these and have retained a No 5, No 23 and No 36M - interesting to see the small but significant changes in its evolution.
Be extremely careful if you come across an original live grenade from WWI or WW2. The Brits used gun cotton/cordite (nitrocellulose) mixtures for their fuses. Cordite chemically deteriorates over time and becomes dangerously unstable. As with old dynamite, the nitroglycerin solidifies and can spontaneously detonate from static electricity or impact.
You prime your grenades before going into combat. Having done a few more things Nothing more to say due to OPSEC the thing you remove the basecap with is called THE TOOL the base cap is the only thing left after detonation you hear it whistling through the air it is shaped like chocolate so everybody gets a piece
Quite a few images showing soldiers with the can of detonators placing them in grenades. Someone sent me a base cap of a mills that had been used. Makes a mess of them.
Assuming an empty mills bomb: Let it sit in a bolt release product for as long as possible. Then try. Have to be really careful. Make sure threads are clear.
@@Stray03 currently in progress with penetrating oil but tbh I have never had any faith in that stuff - I wondered whether there was a technique or tool combination used by those in the know
Not that I know of. I've had a German fuze sitting in some for a while because it is stuck enough to try to damage itself while I try to remove it. Sometimes heat helps but in my case it didn't. I'm sure someone with more experience may have real tricks.
I just love grenades and arms... Love from India, I threw a practice grenade, when I visited a army camp, it was fun... I know some stuff about grenades, how the spoon colour show if it is a practice grenade or not? Etc... Mills bomb is classic, I am from India so indian army use similar grenade
@@Stray03 they where in attic in some old suitcase with some letters from ww2.i also found Thomson M1A1.bombs are active 100 % .how to deactivate them couse i dont want to give nothing of that to police.give me email and i will send you pictures to see.all of this is in very god condition.Im serbian but i live in croatia.
You access the dets through the bottom of the grenade. Id personally tape the lever down to avoid the risk of having it slip off for what ever reason. You then can make a wrench for the bottom out of a thick wire that fits in the 2 holes. Other option is to drill 2 holes into a piece of wood and install 2 drill bits in the holes in the wood to act as a wrench. Did you send the pictures?
Brother Maus, if you haven't already you must watch a film called: The Long Day's Dying. All I can say is that they must have had the best military science technical advisors helping with productuon.
Depends on if it is empty or not and if it has its fuze in it or not, and it's condition. Any time the fuze is in it you have a very dangerous toy. The answer I am supposed to give is that you have to call your local explosives disposal team to destroy it. There are people who will attempt to deactivate the things though. Just it is risky if they are live and old/bad condition.
@@Stray03 I want to say that the condition is perfect, no23 16 MK1, and the fact that I dug it with a tractor, where I already saw it on a ploughshare in a field camp
Probably your striker the rust. Problem is the cap is probably still in her. You may be able to unscrew the bottom cap and remove it but this is a very old cap and unless it has been destroyed by environment you may still have a cap that Is capable of going off and will be much more sensitive. Risky playing with it but it is doable if you can ensure that if it goes off you can contain the explosion in sand or water. So a standoff tool would be how I would do it to be safe-ish.
Well done Stray03. Good presentation, always happy to see people using correct designation for this grenade. The M designation was indeed for Mesopotamia (now Iraq/Iran region). Other grenades such as the No 23 suffered in the hot conditions with TNT exuding from the bodies and forming crystals. TNT crystals are sensitive to shock and abrasion such as unscrewing base plugs to install Initiator Sets presented a serious hazard. The M series had better sealing and the addition of 2 % beeswax resolved the problem. The grenade had a long service and filling explosives varied over time - at times recycled and recovered explosives were used as filling. Grenades do not experience the high shock and pressures found in artillery or mortar rounds. Grenades were filled with molten explosive not loose powders. Not sure of British service but was in use by UK and Australian forces in Korea and Malaya. Aust changed to US M26A2 during Malayan conflict and retained that grenade until late 1990s. Filling plugs and base plugs vary between manufacturers in both material and design. May be brass, steel or alloy. Alloys are notorious for reacting with the explosive filling and breaking up. Not a problem in wartime where storage life is brief but an issue with “finds” 60 or 70 years later. Some production used Bakelite filling plugs as a tpt plug from foundry to filling factory. Live grenades which have been cleaned of explosives are well known to sweat TNT crystals from the cast body material. In Australia this residue trace would be sufficient to declare an item not free from explosives. I have personally recovered and disposed of several hundreds of these and have retained a No 5, No 23 and No 36M - interesting to see the small but significant changes in its evolution.
I appreciate when people with experience and knowledge reply, I always learn something new. Thanks.
cool, i have one but its only the outer casting, no inner no plug or striker. i bent up a piece of fork handle for it so it looks cool with a pin in.
Be extremely careful if you come across an original live grenade from WWI or WW2. The Brits used gun cotton/cordite (nitrocellulose) mixtures for their fuses. Cordite chemically deteriorates over time and becomes dangerously unstable. As with old dynamite, the nitroglycerin solidifies and can spontaneously detonate from static electricity or impact.
Do explosives such as Ammonal and Cordite become more unstable over time? And why?
You prime your grenades before going into combat. Having done a few more things Nothing more to say due to OPSEC the thing you remove the basecap with is called THE TOOL the base cap is the only thing left after detonation you hear it whistling through the air it is shaped like chocolate so everybody gets a piece
Quite a few images showing soldiers with the can of detonators placing them in grenades.
Someone sent me a base cap of a mills that had been used. Makes a mess of them.
@@Stray03 Probably WW1 trench warfare the mills bomb as it was called was in its infancy then
how do you remove a stuck centre piece? without causing damage?
Assuming an empty mills bomb: Let it sit in a bolt release product for as long as possible. Then try. Have to be really careful. Make sure threads are clear.
@@Stray03 currently in progress with penetrating oil but tbh I have never had any faith in that stuff - I wondered whether there was a technique or tool combination used by those in the know
Not that I know of. I've had a German fuze sitting in some for a while because it is stuck enough to try to damage itself while I try to remove it. Sometimes heat helps but in my case it didn't.
I'm sure someone with more experience may have real tricks.
I just love grenades and arms...
Love from India, I threw a practice grenade, when I visited a army camp, it was fun...
I know some stuff about grenades, how the spoon colour show if it is a practice grenade or not? Etc...
Mills bomb is classic, I am from India so indian army use similar grenade
Yeah Canada used them up to the 60s I think then moved to the m26 style one IIRC. Thanks for watching.
@@Stray03 yeah..
Thanks for the humble response for my comment, love you ❤
I found two of them just 5 days ago.they are 100 % loaded.
Nice. Dug or in someones attic?
@@Stray03 they where in attic in some old suitcase with some letters from ww2.i also found Thomson M1A1.bombs are active 100 % .how to deactivate them couse i dont want to give nothing of that to police.give me email and i will send you pictures to see.all of this is in very god condition.Im serbian but i live in croatia.
stray03@gmail.com. I hope they stored them without the detonators in it.
@@Stray03 detonatora are in the bombs and that is the problem.have to pull them out.
You access the dets through the bottom of the grenade. Id personally tape the lever down to avoid the risk of having it slip off for what ever reason. You then can make a wrench for the bottom out of a thick wire that fits in the 2 holes. Other option is to drill 2 holes into a piece of wood and install 2 drill bits in the holes in the wood to act as a wrench. Did you send the pictures?
Why would anyone scratch the paint off no the M 36 the M stands for Mills ie a Milks Bomb
So why does a 36 and a 36M model exist if it stands for mills?
@@Stray03 different factories/Makers
@@Stray03The “M” stands for “Mesopotamia”. They were proofed against humidity
Brother Maus, if you haven't already you must watch a film called: The Long Day's Dying. All I can say is that they must have had the best military science technical advisors helping with productuon.
Looks interesting enough, some silly special effects, but might be worth a watch.
Bro.what is mein 36 i want to know plz
Model number
Thanks
.
i found this bomb today and want make a souvenir ,but i dont know how dangerous this.
Depends on if it is empty or not and if it has its fuze in it or not, and it's condition. Any time the fuze is in it you have a very dangerous toy. The answer I am supposed to give is that you have to call your local explosives disposal team to destroy it. There are people who will attempt to deactivate the things though. Just it is risky if they are live and old/bad condition.
@@Stray03 I want to say that the condition is perfect, no23 16 MK1, and the fact that I dug it with a tractor, where I already saw it on a ploughshare in a field camp
It is in "thrown condition" or was it with lever and pin still?
@@Stray03 there is no lever and ring, and the hole for the fuse is filled with corrosion
Probably your striker the rust. Problem is the cap is probably still in her. You may be able to unscrew the bottom cap and remove it but this is a very old cap and unless it has been destroyed by environment you may still have a cap that Is capable of going off and will be much more sensitive. Risky playing with it but it is doable if you can ensure that if it goes off you can contain the explosion in sand or water. So a standoff tool would be how I would do it to be safe-ish.